Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (Russian: Дми́трий Анато́льевич Медве́дев) (born in Leningrad, September 14, 1965) is the prime minister and former third president of Russia from 2008 to 2012. Putin was the prime minister under Medvedev. He was inaugurated on May 7, 2008, having won the March 2nd election with 70% of the vote.[1] He is the chairman of the party United Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev has close ties to then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and has been accused by opposition and numerous experts in the West as being heavily under his influence. In 2005, then President Putin appointed him as First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, and subsequently endorsed him for the presidency. Considered an economic liberal, Mr Medvedev was also chairman of Russia's enormous state-run gas monopoly, Gazprom.

Medvedev is an Ex-atheist. He claims that at the age of 23 he was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church, a decision he said he took himself. [2]

Quotes

"We are well aware that no non-democratic state has ever become truly prosperous." - Dmitry Medvedev

"Even if the state retains a controlling interest... we aim to create public companies with a substantial share of foreign investment in their capital." - Dmitry Medvedev